History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including, Part 90

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868-
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1323

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THOMAS R. COWELL, merchant tailor, was born October 23, 1838, in Dub- lin, Ireland. His father, Richard Cowell, was an officer in an East India regiment, and was killed by falling from his horse in 1840. The mother of our subject died in 1839. From this time he was reared by his uncle, Doctor J. W. Cowell, with whom he came to America in 1844. He learned the art of cutting with Develin & Company of New York city, and at the breaking out of the war enlisted in Company H, Seventy-First New York State Militia, and served four months. Immediately after being mustered out he returned to New York city and in April, 1862, was employed by G. C. Porter as a cutter in Meadville, this state. Two years later he became the partner of Mr. Porter and remained as such until 1868, when he came to Oil City where he has since remained and has built up a large trade in the merchant tailoring department, gents' furnishing goods, furs, etc. He was a member of the Oil City council two terms and from 1887 to 1888 was mayor of the city. He is the treasurer of the chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oil City, also treasurer of Petrolia Lodge, No. 363, and a member of Talbot commandery, of which he was eminent commander for six terms in succession. He also belongs to the K. of H. and K. of M. societies, is past commander of G. A. R. Post, No. 163, and a member of the Episcopal church. In politics he is a Democrat. He is interested with Ludwig Mayer in a considerable amount of city real estate and is one of the enterprising citizens of Oil City.

GUSTAVUS C. BREITSCHUH, merchant tailor, was born in Prussia, Septem- ber 13, 1852, and in 1867, accompanied by his mother, came to America. His father, August Breitschuh, a tailor by trade, came to the United States in 1866, and resided in Oil City until 1884, when he removed to Detroit, Michigan. He also was born in Prussia, there married Charlotte Hensel, and by her reared five sons and one daughter, all of whom except Gustavus and Charles are in Detroit. Gustavus was educated in the old country and

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there learned his trade of tailor. In Oil City from 1867 to 1886 he worked for various parties, and in the latter year began business for himself on First street. Since April 1, 1887, he has been located at the south end of Petro- leum bridge in South Oil City. Mr. Breitschuh is an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and a Knight of Maccabees. He was married in this city, March 6, 1880, to Miss Anna Reading, a native of Philadelphia, and has one child, a daughter, Frances. His wife is a member of the Episcopal church, while he belongs to the Lutheran church, and is a Democrat. His brother, Charles, learned the trade of tailor in his native country, came with the fam- ily to America, and after working at various places in Oil City, he, in 1887, joined his brother in his present business. He is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, the Lutheran church, and a Democrat. He was married in 1880 to Miss Annie Reynolds, by whom he has five children: Mollie; Otto; Charlotte; Charles, and Gustavus. His wife also belongs to the Lutheran church.

JACOB R. YOUNG, dairyman, was born September 10, 1829, in Yates county, New York. His parents, Abraham and Elmira Young, had nine children: Elihu; Betsey; Hepsey; Edmund; Jacob R .; Phear; Hannah J .; Zebulau, and Elmira. The father was a farmer, and died December 28, 1885. His first wife died in 1837, and he was again married to Miss Sa- mantha Reed, by whom he had four children: Abraham; Lucy; Watson, and Cornelius. The mother of the last named children is now residing in Ontario county, New York, where Abraham died young. He was an earnest Methodist, and his home was the rendezvous of Methodist ministers for many years. Our subject was educated in the common schools and at an academy in Steuben county, New York. After teaching thirty-three terms of school in New York and Michigan, he was employed as freight agent on the Delaware division of the Erie railroad at Coshocton, New York, during which connection he held various positions with that company, such as freight conductor and tallyman of freight. He was subsequently yard-mas- ter, freight and ticket agent at Meadville, and in 1870 came to Oil City and acted as freight reporter for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Rail- way Company for six years. In 1876 he established his present dairy business, the first in Oil City. He also opened up a merchant tailoring es- tablishment, which is now conducted by his son. He was married in 1852 to Mary Renwick, of Allegany county, New York, who died in 1854. His second marriage occurred September 2, 1855, to Amelia A. Simonds, born December 26, 1826, daughter of James and Mary (Hungerford) Simonds, and they have the following children: Mary F., who is married to William Boucher, and resides in Colorado; John, a clothier; Burnice A., wife of John H. Gross, a broker of Pittsburgh, and Carlton A., at home. James Simonds was born in 1788 in Massachusetts, and died October 10, 1873. His wife, Mary H., was born November 8, 1786, and died August 10, 1854.

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Their children were: Mary, who died young; Cordelia L., married to Leonard E. Dennison, of Livingston county, New York, and Amelia A. Mr. and Mrs. Simonds were active in the interests of the Presbyterian church. In 1871 Mr. Young located in his present residence, on the site where the first celebration of the Declaration of Independence was held by the citizens of Oil City in the year 1864. He is a Republican, and with his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.

J. P. KERN, sole proprietor of Kern & Company, wholesale grocers, flour and feed merchants, was born July 2, 1844, in Franklin county, Pennsyl- vania, son of Andrew and Nancy (Toms) Kern, natives of Germany and Franklin county, respectively. The father came to Pennsylvania in 1830 and resided in Franklin county until 1850, when he went to Logan, Ohio, remained there until 1868, when he removed to Kansas. In 1877 he bought a farm near Oil City. There he now resides, being in the business of producing oil. J. P. Kern lived with his father in Logan, Ohio, until September 10, 1861, when in his seventeenth year he enlisted in Company D, Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry for three years as private. The regiment went to Camp Dennisson to organize, and on September 20th went. from Camp Dennisson by rail to Lexington, Kentucky, and from thence marched to Wild Cat Gap, and on October 20th, was in the battle of Wild Cat, wherein the Confederate general Zollicoffer was headed off and driven back, after which during his term of service he participated with his regi- ment in the following battles: Mill Springs, Kentucky, January 19, 1862; Corinth, Mississippi, May 17, 1862; Perrysville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862; Stone River, Tennessee, December 30, 1862, and January 3, 1863; Chicka- mauga, Georgia, September 19 and 20, 1863, in which battle, on Sunday, the 20th, he was seriously wounded by a bullet through the left knee; he lay where he fell from the Sunday he was wounded until the following Sun- day, when he with others (who were too seriously wounded to be carried off by the Confederates to prison) was gathered in to Crawfish Springs, where he was held until ambulances from the Union army were allowed to go into the Confederate lines for the wounded, who were all then paroled and taken into Chattanooga, from thence to Nashville hospitals, where he remained until he was able to go home to Logan, Ohio, on a thirty-day furlough. At the expiration of his furlough he was ordered to the camp of paroled prisoners in Camp Chase, near Columbus, where after several months, he was declared exchanged, and in August, 1864, was discharged from the army from "disability, caused by gunshot through left knee," received in battle, from whence he returned to Logan, Ohio, and in May, 1865, landed in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and remained there for about six months, when he came to Oil City, and went into the employ of J. A. Dewar & Company, flour and feed merchants. In 1867 he made his first venture in business for himself by opening up a retail grocery store, which he continued until

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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.

1868, when he and two partners embarked in the flour and feed business in his present location, to which business he has added wholesale groceries, and is now sole and only proprietor. He has an extensive business within a radius of fifty miles, has siding that places cars within four feet of his store door, so that in receiving his goods in carload lots he handles them with very little expense. He was married in April, 1867, to Margret E. Turner, and has two children living: George, fifteen, and Willie, eight years of age. He is a member of the Masonic order, also of William Downing Post, G. A. R., of which he is quartermaster. He is and always has been a Republican; himself, wife, and son George are members of Trinity Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he is one of the board of trustees.

A. W. ALSBAUGH, proprietor of a wholesale feed, flour, and grocery estab- lishment, was born June 17, 1835, in what is now Clarion, then Venango county, son of George and Elizabeth (Kaufmen) Alsbaugh, natives of Penn- sylvania and of German extraction. His parents settled in Venango county about the year 1826, buying land at that time five miles west of Shippen- ville, and some ten years later removing to the northern part of Clarion county, near the Clarion river, where the village of Scotch Hill is now lo- cated and where the father purchased land and carried on farming in con- nection with lumbering and merchandising. Here the father died in 1880 and the mother in 1889. Their children were named as follows: David, who lives on the old place; Rachel, married to P. Fitzgerald; Samuel J., deceased; John, deceased, who was a member of the One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers; George W., who lives in Clarion county; A. W .; Levi P., deceased, who was also in the One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth Penn- sylvania Volunteers; and Oliver P., residing in Clearfield county, who was a member of Company E, Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves. The parents were members of the Protestant Methodist church. Our subject was educated in the common schools and brought up on a farm till the age of eighteen, when he was employed as a clerk in his father's store at Scotch Hill, Clarion county, for six years. He then conducted a store on his own resources for two years, sold the same, and engaged in oil production and lumber- ing for two years, after which he re-entered the store for a period. In 1869 he came to Oil City and became a member of the firm of Benn, Kern & Company, later Kern & Alsbaugh, with whom he remained until 1885, when he withdrew and went into his present business. He was married October 24, 1876, to Vinnie Cribbs, daughter of Henry and Caroline Cribbs. He is now a member of the city council, was one term one of the assessors of Oil City, and has been connected with the school board. He belongs to the Masonic order, the E. A. U., and the K. O. T. M., and is a Republican.

W. B. MAGEE, dealer in flour and feed, was born in Butler county, Penn- sylvania, November 3, 1806, son of James and Jane (Boyle) Magee, natives of Ireland who emigrated to America in 1794 and 1795, respectively, and

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BIOGRAPHIES OF OIL CITY.

were married in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, where they remained until the latter part of 1795, when they removed to Pittsburgh. While there Mr. Magee was offered fifty acres of land that is now in the very heart of that great city for a horse and saddle, but refused this tempting offer which would have proven a fortune to him. He was finally pursuaded by Gen- eral Robinson to locate on one hundred acres in Butler county, where he reared thirteen children: Isabella; Mary A .; Elizabeth; Robert; Rebecca; William B .; George H .; Jane; Susanna; Lucinda; Margaret; James, and John. Of these W. B., John, and Lucinda (Mrs. James Boggs) are living. The father died in 1854 and his widow in 1864. They were the grand par- ents of seventy-two children, and were strict members of the Reformed Presbyterian church. W. B. Magee received his education in the subscrip- tion schools of the period. At the early age of nineteen years he began to learn the tanner's trade in Westmoreland county, which he followed for six years, and then pursued his trade on his own responsibility in a tannery located on his father's farm in Butler county. In 1836 he engaged in the grocery business in Allegheny City and continued with good success until the fall of 1859, when he came to Venango county and drilled the second oil well in a neighborhood about seven miles below Franklin along the Alle- gheny river. He subsequently became interested in a number of oil wells along Oil creek, and has never ceased to invest in the production of oil. In 1876 he commenced dealing in flour and feed and has been successful. He was married May 3, 1830, to Leticia A. Hamilton, daughter of William and Margaret (Alexander) Hamilton and by her has had nine children: Jane, married to John Love; Hugh, deceased; James, who married Fanny Robin- son; Martha, who was killed by being thrown from a buggy; Anna E., de- ceased; Mary A., married to Joseph P. Orr; William J., who married Ra- chel Edmonds; Robert B., who married Fannie Fouquet, and George H., who married Jennie Sproule. Mr. Magee served as school and bank direct- or while in Allegheny City. He became identified with the Reformed Presbyterian church at the early age of thirteen years and with his wife still adheres to that organization with the tenacity of true Christians. He is one of the oldest and most respected citizens in this county, and has al- ways been a strong supporter of the Republican party.

CHARLES METZ, grocer, flour and feed merchant, was born July 19, 1835, in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of John L. and Mary (Orin) Metz, natives of Pennsylvania and Ireland, respectively, both of whom are dead, and who had two children, John and Charles. The last named was educated in the common schools and began for himself in 1860 in a confectionery store. In 1861 he and a friend, T. K. Humphrey, rode a horse from Franklin to Warren, Pennsylvania, where they enlisted as pri- vate soldiers in Company D, of what was known as the Bucktail regiment, under Captain Stone. The company at once went by boat to Pittsburgh,

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and from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, thence to Washington, where Mr. Metz went into active service for a period of three years and three months. During the thirty-two battles he participated in he was but once hit with a minie ball, which cut off a part of the hair of his head. On his return from service he worked a short time at Pittsburgh as a stone mason under his father, who had followed the vocation for twelve years in that city, build- ing, during that period, a suspension bridge across the Allegheny river. Our subject came to Oil City again in 1865 and drilled fifteen wells along Oil creek, after which he went to Pleasantville and conducted a news stand with McPhan & Arnold for nine months, selling at the end of that period and returning to Oil City. He soon after leased the island wells, shut off the water, and pumped from them one hundred and fifty barrels per day for one year. He then put down a number of wells, and later on purchased what are known as the Frothingham wells, which he still owns. He began the grocery business in 1875, and carries a general line of groceries, flour, and feed. He was married in 1870 to Amanda Eckman, a native of Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, and by this union has two children: Mary M. and Edward M. He has been school director of Oil City for six years. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, of Evans Post, G. A. R., and of the K. of L., No. 207. In politics he is a Democrat. His residence is in the Sixth ward, No. 805 East Third street, South Oil City.

JOSEPH P. ORR, an enterprising and deservedly popular grocery mer- chant of South Oil City, was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1839. His father, John Orr, an architect and builder during his life- time, was one of the pioneers of Allegheny City. He died in 1876 at the age of eighty-three years. His widow, whose maiden name was Frances Rogers, died in 1886 at the age of eighty-one years. The two old people were originally from Ireland, having sailed for America the day following their marriage. They reared a family of five children to maturity, and buried five in infancy. Joseph P. was the third son in order of birth. He was educated at the common schools, learned the watchmaker's trade, and was in the jewelry business in Allegheny at the outbreak of the Rebellion. At Pittsburgh, in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Sixty-First Penn- sylvania Volunteers, and served two years and ten months, being discharged from the service at that time on account of a gunshot wound received at the battle of Fair Oaks. During the period of his service he participated in the battles at Falmouth, Hampton, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Mal- vern Hill, etc. He was wounded at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and Malvern Hill, the one received at Fair Oaks leading to his discharge from the army via the hospital at Philadelphia. Returning to Allegheny he engaged in business for about one year, and in 1864 came to Oil City from Marietta, Ohio, where he had spent a few months in the oil trade. Here he was the

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second man to engage in the jewelry business, and he followed it until the big fire in 1866, which destroyed his stock. After a few months in the stave business he, in 1875, moved to the West, and remained about thirteen years, employed variously at farming, coal operating, dairy business, etc. In Sep- tember, 1888, he returned to Oil City and embarked in his present enter- prise. Mr. Orr was one of the organizers of the G. A. R. post at this place and subsequently filled the various offices of the order. He is a Republican in politics, a member of the United Presbyterian church, and of the A. O. U. W. He was married in Allegheny City in 1863 to Miss Mary B. Magee, daughter of Esquire William B. Magee.

L. D. GRANT, grocer, was born in Butler county, this state, November 18, 1839, and is a son of James and Nancy (Sloan) Grant, natives of the same county. The father died in 1841 and the mother in 1854. Their children were eight in number, four of whom are living: William, residing on the old homestead in Butler county; Robert, a farmer of the same county; Margaret, widow of Jonathan Cornelius, who was drowned acci- dentally in the Allegheny river, his two brothers-in-law, Alexander and James Grant, having escaped from the same sad fate, they being at the time with him in the canoe when it capsized; and L. D. Mrs. Cornelius resides on a farm near Utica, Pennsylvania. The parents were members of the Presbyterian church. Our subject received a common school education and began for himself in the oil business in Venango county in 1861. In 1868 he began manufacturing lumber along the Clarion river and continued it for five years. He was also in the oil business from the last mentioned date up to May, 1887, when he opened a grocery, feed, and general notion store on what is known as the Clapp farm in the northern part of Oil City, and is doing a good business. He was married in 1860 to Jane Masters of Forest county, widow of Charles Masters. She is a daughter of William Swartz and was born in Kittanning, Armstrong county. To this union have been born ten children: Ulysses; Sarah J .; Alexander; Charles; Nellie; Daisy; Harry; Alonzo; Catharine, deceased, and James, deceased. Mr. Grant is a Republican, a member of the I. O. O. F. and the K. of L., and with his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.

G. G. and T. A. MCCRACKEN, proprietors of the People's Tea Company, Oil City, are natives of Crawford county and are sons of George McCracken, who came from Scotland in 1851 and lived many years in Ohio, where he carried on the tanning business. He died in this city March 2, 1889, aged seventy-four years. His wife was a McFeeters and her ancestors were also Scotch. The five sons reared by Mr. McCracken are now all residents of Oil City and connected with the People's Tea Company. This company began business April 13, 1889, and is the only concern of the kind in this city. Its location is No. 79 Spring street-Opera House block. The par- ticular attraction of the house is the novelty of its business method. Teas,

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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.

coffee, baking powder, and other goods are sold at standard prices and with every sale they give the purchaser a commutation check representing a cer- tain value. The patrons of this company are not limited to Oil City, their business extending throughout the surrounding county and penetrating the cities and towns of other counties and states. George McCracken was born April 3, 1864, educated at the public schools, and began life as a clerk in a clothing house, going later into a grocery store at Erie, whence he came into the tea company. His wife, to whom he was married May 15, 1888, was Miss Olive Von Scott of Pittsburgh. T. A. McCracken was born in August, 1862, and has spent most of his business life as a commercial traveler.

GEORGE PORTER was born in County Armagh, Ireland. His parents, James Porter and Rachel Alexander, his wife, were descendants of that noble band of Christians, the Scotch Covenanters, who settled in the North of Ireland. James Porter was one of a family of ten sons (three of whom married three sisters, the Misses Alexander). His vocation was that of a farmer, and he died about eighteen years ago at the family homestead in Ireland, where his widow still resides. He was the father of four sons and two daughters. George, his youngest son, was reared in the strict doctrines of the Covenanter church, and enjoyed the best educational advantages which could be procured in a country district. At the early age of fourteen, having conceived the idea of marking out his own career, he came to the United States, under the care of his kinsman, David Gregg, who was return- ing to Pittsburgh, where he had amassed a large fortune in the mercantile business. Mr. Porter went immediately to the home of his cousin, a mer- chant in Beaver county, where he remained for several years assisting in his store. In 1864 he came to Oil City, then booming with the oil excitement, and obtained a position as clerk in the hardware store of Robson & Com- pany, then one of the largest and wealthiest firms in the oil regions. One year after he was taken into the firm as junior partner and manager. A few months after this advance in his prospects, the destructive fire which laid the infant city in ashes occurred, and Robson's store with its extensive stock was entirely destroyed, Mr. Porter losing in the conflagration all the means which by economy and strict attention to business he had acquired. With the indomitable energy which characterized the fathers of the city, the business portion of the town was speedily rebuilt, Mr. Porter being one of the first to help organize the volunteer fire department of the city. For years this company did good service in the many fires which occurred, sav- ing much valuable property for their neighbors, expecting and receiving no remuneration. The senior partner and principal capitalist of the firm of Robson & Company, Charles Robson, resided in Cincinnati; the second part- ner, Frederick Geigle, was engaged constantly in the machine department connected with the store, and as Mr. Robson only visited Oil City once a year for a few weeks at a time, the entire management of the financial in-

BIOGRAPHIES OF OIL CITY. 893

terests of the firm devolved on the young partner. Securing trade, collect- ing bills, etc., were matters which required great tact and firmness in a business which depended entirely on speculative custom and patrons who were rich one week and poor the next. Honorable, generous, and fearless in all his dealings, he was in the absence of the senior partner practically the head of the firm in everything that required executive ability and busi- ness enterprise. Devoted to his business, he managed its interests with un- tiring energy, and the firm of Robson & Company was for years one of the most successful in the oil regions. During this period Mr. Porter was mar- ried to Miss Katie Thropp, daughter of Isaiah Thropp, merchant, of Valley Forge, who like her sister (Mrs. M. E. Cone) had commenced to write for the press in childhood and has attained considerable literary reputation. Two daughters have been born to them: Katherine A. and Caroline V. Porter. In 1874 the firm of Robson & Company having been dissolved, Mr. Porter entered the oil business in Butler county, in this state, in partnership with R. M. Waugh, the new firm being known as Waugh & Porter. His efforts in this new field were crowned with success, and he was one of the owners of the Great Leather well, which opened up considerable territory. When oil was discovered in Mckean county, he removed thither, and for some years experienced the vicissitudes of the oil business, and the hard- ships of a pioneer in that bleak mountain region. Having thoroughly. mas- tered all the details of field work, he conducted his new business with his usual enterprise, until, owing to the depressed state of the oil business the shut-down movement was inaugurated by the producers, the firm of Waugh & Porter stopped drilling, although still retaining their field interests. Mr. Porter then obtained a position in the fuel department of the Standard Oil Company, and for the last three years has traveled extensively in the northeastern and western part of the United States in the interests of that company. He is now engaged in superintending their field work in the neighborhood of Oil City. Mr. Porter is a member of the Second Presby . terian church of Oil City, in politics he is a stanch Republican, and while no aspirant for political honors himself, has always worked zealously in the interests of his party to get the right man elected in the right place. For twenty years he has been a member of Petrolia lodge in Oil City, and has assisted the brethren in many an unostentations act of charity known to the great Master above. Such is a brief sketch of a representative, self-made man, one of Oil City's pioneers, who, by their untiring industry, ability and perseverance through many vicissitudes, have contributed in no small de- gree to the steady growth and prosperity of the city.

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History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including, Part 90

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co. Number of Pages: 1323

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868-
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Brown, Runk & Co.
Number of Pages: 1323